The MIRACLE project

This time last year, I was happy to visit Uni Basel, and see the early results of their MIRACLE project on the invitation of Drs. Kosa and Rauter. 

"The flagship project MIRACLE, under the leadership of Prof. Philippe Cattin and Prof. Hans-Florian Zeilhofer, was funded with 15.2 million Swiss francs by the Werner Siemens-Foundation (Zug, Switzerland) and performs research on the intersection between natural sciences and medicine.

MIRACLE, short for Minimally Invasive Robot-Assisted Computer-guided LaserosteotomE, aims to develop a robotic endoscope to perform contact-free bone surgery with laser light.

Laserosteotomy offers several advantages over conventional mechanical bone surgery such as precise and small cuts based on pre-operative planning, functional cut geometry (so-called smart cuts), accelerated healing, and less trauma. Combining laserosteotomy with endoscopy (minimally invasive surgery) will further push the boundaries of feasible applications for the benefits of the patient. MIRACLE is planned to be applied in the fields of orthopedics, cranio-maxillofacial surgery, neurosurgery, otolaryngology, traumatology, and spinal column surgery."

Photo report from their key results: 

 

 
Download their brochure here. 

Source: Uni Basel